BishopAccountability.org
	Mass Inside, Protests outside Tamaqua Church By Chris Parker Morning Call [Tamaqua PA] October 13, 2006 http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-church1013-cn,0,5180764.story?coll=all-newslocal-hed As retired Bishop Thomas Welsh elicited giggles from delighted school children as he celebrated Mass in St. Jerome's Catholic Church in Tamaqua this morning, Vince Catizone, who says he was molested by a priest in the 1960s, stood across the street, gathering signatures on a petition to support legislation extending the time child abuse victims have to report the crime. Welsh was offering the Mass of Thanksgiving for the donation of a $15,000 carillon by philanthropist brothers Ralph and Daniel Cipko, Lansford natives who have donated millions of dollars in equipment and money to Catholic schools, churches and municipalities. The elderly brothers did not attend the Mass due to illness; parishioners prayed for their health. Inside the church, Welsh joked with the children, who are students at the adjacent parochial school, asking them questions, bestowing smiles on upturned faces and occasionally touching a child's head or shoulders. Outside, Catizone asked passersby to sign his petition. Nearby, signs were attached to his car, "PA lawmakers and religious leaders - protectors of the molesters" and giving a website, www.the4thdecade.com. The site, which lists cases of child sexual abuse allegedly committed by priests, allows people to sign the petitions. "I'm trying to get some public awareness of the issue of sexual abuse against children, especially past sexual abuse," Catizone said. "We need to get our lawmakers to change the laws dealing with the statute of limitations." After the Mass and the blessing of the carillon, Welsh, who retired in 1998, declined to comment on Catizone's protest, saying that it was a "complicated issue" and that it would be inappropriate for him to speak on the issue because he is retired.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.